– Sergei Guriev, Professor of Economics and Dean, London Business School

(Speaking at the Global Business Summit 2026)

In 1936, Sir Austen Chamberlain famously said that “one of the principal Chinese curses heaped upon an enemy is, ‘May you live in an interesting age.’” While there is no documented proof that this was ever a genuine Chinese saying, living — and working — in times of disruption and change remains one of the most important challenges for leaders.

Today, we are facing a world of unprecedented complexity and uncertainty. In recent years, we have witnessed a pandemic that took millions of lives and disrupted the global economy; a rise in interstate conflicts and geopolitical fragmentation; a rapid disintegration of the global rule-based order; an acceleration of global warming and the degradation of nature; and an exponential growth of new technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, which both delivers remarkable productivity gains and threatens virtually every job and task, including those performed by highly skilled professionals.

This “polycrisis” implies the need for decisive leaders who can make bold decisions. However, these leaders also face the challenge of unprecedented transparency brought about by a radically transparent information environment, driven by the rise of mobile broadband and social media. Every misstep goes viral; every mistake can cost CEOs their jobs before they can deliver on their long-term plans. For many business leaders, this becomes a reason for caution and sometimes even inertia. Avoiding decisions may help prevent mistakes that could lead to public embarrassment. But this is wrong: the world needs leaders who can break away from an unsustainable status quo rather than support it. Yesterday’s normal is no longer feasible. And, as Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney said last year, “nostalgia is not a strategy.”

What, then, is a strategy? Any strategy should stem from a long-term vision. While disruption and uncertainty are here to stay, our actions should be guided by our convictions about who we are, how we create value in the long run, and why our organisations make the world a better place. Only this clarity can help us convince ourselves — and our stakeholders — that we should continue to exist, invest, and grow in this complex and uncertain world.

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